Classic cars sing in reno musicals

Mark S. Bacon

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, January 7, 2007

Photo: Mark S. Bacon/Special To The Chr

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Six Across - Some of the cast from Harrah's "Rock My Ride" show join up on the set designed to look like an auto body shop. From left, they are Veronica Bisbee, Chelsea Thompson, Tim Tenhumberg, Chanel Keesling, Britney Irwin, and Sarah Roulias. Thompson and Tenhumberg are two of the show's singing stars. Photo: Mark S. Bacon/Special to The Chronicle
Ran on: 01-07-2007
&quo;Rock My Ride&quo; at Harrah's in Reno features classic cars and a cast of showgirls and singers. less

Six Across - Some of the cast from Harrah's "Rock My Ride" show join up on the set designed to look like an auto body shop. From left, they are Veronica Bisbee, Chelsea Thompson, Tim Tenhumberg, Chanel ... more

"There were so many classic- car enthusiasts in the audience," says the show's producer, Greg Thompson, "guys were having heart attacks, thinking, 'Oh my God, they're walking on the car with high heels!' "

Audience members today may not be quite so concerned about a classic rod's paint job -- and more focused on the topless dancers -- than when the show opened in July. At the time, the city was filling up with car enthusiasts who flock to Reno each year to celebrate Hot August Nights, a weeklong retro festival and car show.

Because Reno is associated with classic wheels -- it's also home to the National Automobile Museum -- Thompson thought a car-culture theme would be a hit. He used the MTV show "Pimp My Ride" as inspiration. But because the Reno show's target audience is not necessarily the MTV crowd, Thompson selected a blend of hip-hop and classic rock designed to appeal to couples age 45 and younger.

Similar to the MTV show, "Rock My Ride" involves "pimping" or customizing a car. In the case of the '77 Corvette, "Extreme Makeover" might be a better analogy. The car arrives onstage with lumps, bumps and primer. Grass and weeds grow out of the body's cracks and seams, and a rooster lives in the engine compartment.

Two mechanics on duty (Tim Tenhumberg and Brian Mills) eventually restore the car -- with help from six shapely female assistants -- after a variety of musical numbers and comedy bits that make up the show.

"I thought the part that's most innovative," Thompson says, "is the choreography that Mistinguett did with what we call the repair medley, which is a lot of hip-hop/rock music strung together in a big dance number."

Mistinguett, the show's choreographer who goes by one name, has dancers wielding power tools and sliding on creepers, the wheeled platforms mechanics use to slide under cars. Even the sound of power tools is incorporated into the music.

The entire show -- sets, costumes, choreography -- was created in Seattle, home of Greg Thompson Productions, then shipped to Reno. Thompson, who has produced hundreds of shows throughout the United States and overseas, says the modest-size stage at Harrah's posed a challenge when it came to creating the custom-car shop look. But at a recent performance the sets seemed to create just the right atmosphere. Corrugated tin walls decorated with hubcaps, vintage gasoline signs and front grills, plus stacks of oil cans and tires are illuminated by neon beer signs.

Puppeteer Jerry Halliday brings comedy to the show. His creation Sista Girl, who tells the audience she's from Goose Creek, S.C., is the owner of the '77 Corvette. Dressed all in black to put the emphasis on Sista Girl, rather than himself, Halliday moves his lively and mouthy creation around the stage to interact with the cast and occasionally make forays into the audience. Halliday and Sista Girl have a stand-up monologue before the show's final musical number.

"Rock My Ride," a late-night show, is one of two Thompson features at Harrah's. "Let the Good Times Roll" is the early show.

"It's very different from 'Rock My Ride,' " says Tenhumberg, who, like the rest of the nine-person cast, except Halliday, appears in both shows. "It's a '50s and '60s review and it has more plot to it. It takes place at a high school, and there are the cool kids and the nerdy kid. It weaves a lot of the popular hits of the '50s together."

"Good Times," Thompson says, is aimed at moms and pops, an older audience than "Rock."

"We have a lot of repeat guests, people who lived through that era," Tenhumberg says. "The show brings back memories."

Doing two different shows requires versatility among the cast, something Thompson said he looked for when the performers were selected. When the shows opened, the cast's temperament was tested.

"Good Times" premiered a few weeks before "Ride," Tenhumberg says. On the night "Rock My Ride" was to open, a thunderstorm hit Reno, knocking out power in the middle of "Let the Good Times Roll."

At the time, Mills was onstage alone, Tenhumberg says, "and he ended up doing a little impromptu a cappella sing-along with the audience. He did a really good job, but after about 10 or 15 minutes, the show was officially canceled."

The power was not restored in town for many hours, so "Rock My Ride's" opening night was delayed one day.

"That was rough because our nerves were worked up to open," Tenhumberg says. "And then we had to wait and go through opening-night jitters all over again."

Six months later, the cast has polished the shows -- and the Corvette -- until they shine.